Happy Medicare 50th Anniversary, UESiders!

Amazing there was a time when millions of our elderly had zero access to healthcare…

Amazing that millions of Americans still go without…

That even given the Medicare/Medicaid and often narrow benefits, 70% of Americans with hearing deficits between the ages of 65 and 84 with hearing deficits – the third most common health deficit – are walking around untreated and without hearing aids!

Yikes!!

cyperus-trachysanthos

But as we work toward ever greater fairness in all things:

Friday, July 31st: Annual Hearst Symposium Lecture

Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Gardens, 421 East 61st Street, 2pm

This year’s subject: New York in the 1830’s… A period encompassing the opening of the Erie Canal and 1828’s tumultuous election. Presented by the Museum’s Hearst Fellows, Amanda James and Sarah Stanley. Free with admission to Non-members, $8; Seniors & Students, $7! Completely free to members.

Saturdays, August 1st, 8th & 15th: Summer Streets 2015

Totally free of automobiles and packed with great activities/attractions for all ages, be they propelled by foot, cycles, skates or whatever non-car! (May there be segues to ride again this year!) For further details…

Sundays to Fridays: Museum at Eldridge Street

12 Eldridge Street between Canal and Division Streets

Opened in 1887, the Eldridge Street Synagogue was the first great house of worship built by East European Jews in America and is now a National Historic Landmark. (Combine with the great and newly expanded Tenament Museum on Orchard Street!.)

Monday, August 3rd: State of the Art – Lighting Design & Control

Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place, 6-8pm

Learn from the experts what’s required by local lighting codes, what goes into best practices and how controls can make spaces more appealing, flexible, and efficient! Urban Green Council Members, Free to $10. Non-members, $15. For more and registration…

Tuesday, August 4th: 19th Precinct 2015 Night Out Against Crime

Carl Schurz Park, East End at 86th Street, 5:30-8:30pm

Mischief or more in your hood? Avail yourself of this prime opportunity to let officers of Precinct 19 and local electeds know all about it! That plus live music, kids’ activities (including face painting) and refreshments galore. Cancelled if it rains. For further info, call 212-408=0243.

Wednesday, August 5th: NYC Passive House Tour/Talk

951 Pacific Street, Brooklyn, 6:30-8:30pm

Our chance to set foot in NYC’s first building to earn both Passive House Institute certification and NYSERDA Net Zero capable rating! Tour led by none other than the architect, Paul Castrucci! This is the wave of the future, folks! Free but donations encouraged. For more and to register…

And then:

Friday, August 14th: Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Night Tour

Meet at Grand Central Concourse at 7:10pm and train to Phillipse Manor

Amble among the tombstones by lantern light and learn the history of the many notables/disreputables interred in the historic graveyard. Organized by – who else? – the Obscura Society. Tour tickets: $27.50. Train ticket extra. For more and to reserve a place…

Tuesday, August 25th: Hooked Rugs Dialogue & Studio

American Folk Art Museum, 2 Lincoln Square, 6-8:30pm

Examine some of the museum’s finest examples, then get down to the business of making a hooked sampler under the guidance of rug artist Norma Batastini! (These workshops are wonderful even when you discover you have zero aptitude for a given art/craft! And plenty of guys attend!) Members, $45. Non-members, $55. For details and to sign up…

Come autumn:

Sunday, September 27th: Edible Academy Family Garden Picnic

New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, The Bronx, 12:30-4:30pm

One great afternoon of outdoor discovery with special guests Chef Carla Hall, Andy Nusser and Anthony Sasso… Think live cooking demonstrations, a lip-smacking picnic, kitchen crafts and organic gardening for the whole family, live music and more! Adults, $125. Children,, $75. (All proceeds to fund the Ediible Academy and its many programs.) For more…

helichrysum-splendidum

Let’s get miscellaneous:

First the 42nd Street Library… Then the Frick… Now “they” would like to take a big bite out of the Theodore Roosevelt Park behind the Museum of Natural History!!! If you take issue…

So we’re all in the know about D.C.’s case of Highway Bill inertia… Yes, and the same is true of funding for National Parks (which some would like to see open to mining/drilling)! (Should you disapprove...)

Happy National Zoo Keeper Week, UESiders!

As for what the next seven days will include (but no air quality advisories, please):

Saturday, July 18th: 82nd Street/St. Stephen’s Greenmarket

82nd Street between First and York, 9am–2pm

Compost & Clothes Collection – 9am–1pm

It’s Cooking With Kallos Saturday, folks!!

Repeating his 2014 star-turn at the chopping board/propane burner, Council Member Kallos will be serving up one of his favorite seasonal recipes approx 11am-1pm and with an emphasis on tomatoes… That and welcoming a chat with constituents!!

Of course, with us will also be Bread Alone, Ballard Honey, Valley Shepherd, American Seafood, Samascott, Rising Sun, Garden of Spices, Gajeski, Alewife, Cherry Lane and Ole Mother Hubbert Farms!

Yes, Rising Sun was MIA last Saturday as Farmer Sally was recuperating from a back injury. Fingers crossed she’s once again AOK! (We want our burgers!)

However… Fulfilling her obligations to animal charities will have Our Master Knife Sharpener’s table empty the next two weekends.

If you are wondering where your child could continue golf, there’s a new Junior Golf Center out in Bay Ridge BK (and an annex site in Flushing Meadow) that offers free golf ages 7-17 and all levels and an advanced program for kids who end up on a competitive level, applying for college scholarships.www.juniorgolfcenter.org

Moving on to 5-point mini-rant:

Yes, it’s 2015, but there’re still some on the national stage trying to lower standards for food served at schools! (If you disapprove…)

From Market Manager Andrei… In case you missed his (Russian) family pickling recipes:

Fresh Pickles:

1 quart of water, 4 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 bay leaf, and as much dill as you want. Boil the water, then mix in the salt, vinegar, dill and bay leaf, then pour over the Kirbies (as in Kirby cucumbers) in a sealable jar. (Amount/size of the cucumbers will vary, so just make sure that there’s enough liquid to cover). Keep the jar in your fridge for at least three days. Pickles should last for a couple weeks.

Quick Pickles:

1/2 cup vinegar, 2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. honey/sugar, black pepper/dill to taste. Combine the ingredients and bring just to a boil, then pour over sliced Kirbies. Cover and let sit for at least one hour.

Saturday, July 18th: 2015 Chelsea Garden Club Tour

Learn from and admire the handiwork of the prodigious green thumbs of those who originated the art of Bicycle Island Gardening! (And their islands are beautiful!) Free.

Saturday, July 18th: 2015 City of Water Day

All Over Town

Every summertime activity we love either on, in or by our city’s fabulous H2O!! For the schedule of events… And in our own hood? As of 11:45am, the great East River Crew will moving their two wonderful boats onto the Esplanade and into the East River! Be good to yourself and go for a ride!!

Sundays through November 22nd: 94th Street Greenmarket

First Avenue between 94th & 96th Street, 9am-5pm

Compost Collection – 9am–1pm

With us will be the great American Seafood, Bread Alone, Meredith’s Bakery, Wager’s Cider Mill, DePaolo Turkey, Ole Mother Hubbert, Stannart, Norwich Meadows and Phillips Farms!

Sunday, July 19th: Make Music New York at Schurz Park

Carl Schurz Park, East End Avenue & 86th Street, 4-7pm

One great evening of open air music by Sara DeLeo, the Impact Repertory Theater, Eric Koppelman & Riley Fitzsimmons, Daniel Hartig, the Arrow Band and Hungry Marching Band! Refreshments, too!! Brought to us by the Schurz Conservancy and Borough President Brewer (who’ll be attending). Free!

Every Tuesday: Rowing with the East River Crew

East River Esplanade at 96th Street, 4:30pm

Row or just go out on the water for the ride and a most wonderful, later afternoon summer experience! Truly, one of the UES’s treasures. Open to one and all and unbelievably… Free. For more…

Hyde Park, HRM 82: A louder than usual rustling in the woods this evening attracted my attention. The grasses at the edge began to sway. Then out on to the lawn tumbled a red fox kit followed by another in hot pursuit. Then Mama appeared, followed by three more kits. We watched them race and romp and even perform the classic “pounce.” Two hours later they were still playing hard. I’d say Mama had her paws full. – Barbara Wells

Plus the wonderful Andrea Wright will be making her beautiful music again!

Newsflashes from Market Manager Andrei: “Look for corn, tomatoes, a variety of eggplants and rumor has it that striped bass season is open! You don’t want to miss Ole Mother Hubbert’s great new gelato – a ton of great flavors – either!”

Meanwhile, there’ll be a new person at the recycling table this week. Holly’s been promoted to a GrowNYC farming project up in the Bronx, but she’s promised to keep us in the loop!

Sundays through November 22nd: 94th Street Greenmarket

First Avenue between 94th & 96th Street, 9am-5pm

Compost Collection – 9am–1pm

Yup! Those tomatoes and that corn is coming in big time!! Norwich Meadows has some incredible berries, too! Look for Ole Mother Hubbert/Back to the Future Farm’s great gelato, milk, eggs, chicken, yogurt and cheese!

Sundays, June 28th – November 22nd: 94th Street Greenmarket

Guess what? This temporary location is just great! So is the addition of Dipaola’s Turkey! And Norwich Meadows joins the five-star farmer/baker/fisherman/dairy line-up this Sunday!!

Stop by and say hi to new Market Manager Clay who’ll be serving up red, white and blue fruit with a yogurt parfait! (Fruit from Phillips Farm and yogurt from Back to the Future/Old Mother Hubbert Farm!)

Saturday, July 11th: Untold Secrets of Central Park Walking Tour

Meet at the Central Park West 66th Street Entrance, 2-4pm

Given that it’s organized by those wild and crazy folks at Obscura Society, this won’t be your usual (but always great) CP Conservancy tour… As in – just for openers – did we know Transcendentalists were much involved in Central Parks’s founding and design? $25. For more and tickets (buying in advance is advised)…

And then the long-awaited:

Sunday, July 12th:Shred-A-Thon – Pre-Bastille Day Edition

First Avenue between 94th & 95th Streets, 11am-2pm

Just two weeks and we’ll be pulverizing tons of paper on First Avenue!

And you do recall:

NO cardboard or handled shopping bags.

And please remove those paper clips and spiral bindings.

NO HARDCOVER BOOKS. (But we do accept paperbacks.)

Take your hardcovers over to Goodwill.

(Thanks to Council Members Kallos and Garodnick for their green and generous grants!)

Tuesday, July 14th: Mary Badham Reads From “Go Set a Watchman”

92nd Street Y, Kaufman Concert Hall, Lexington Avenue at 92nd, 7:30pm

Rather, Scout Reads From (Harper Lee’s recently unearthed and just published) “Go Set a Watchman”. Some compelling combination even 50-plus years later. Tickets from $24. (For more and tickets…)

Wednesday, July 29th: “Cost of Courage” Lecture

Bryant Park, Sixth Avenue at 42nd Street, 7pm

Stories of WWII heroism are inexhaustible and ever amazing… In this case, Charles Kaiser’s account of the 3 French siblings who orchestrated resistance efforts in Northern France. Sponsored of the NY Historical Society and Oxford U Press. Free. (For more…)

We revere all citizen science (real science!) projects, but here’s a particular winner: What’s become a worldwide effort to monitor phytoplankton (vital to the ocean’s food web) in our warming oceans and involving a device invented 1865!

Happy… Make That Ecstatic DEC Public Comment Period, UESiders!

Let’s get busy writing those letters… From everyone – young,old and in between – in your family… Your neighbors and friends throughout the city… Colleagues and professional acquaintances if they’re city residents (we’re been unashamedly puting the bite on both)…

Yes, you can submit to the local DEC office noted in the Commission’s press release, but – once again for purposes of recording vital head count and preventing letters going strangely astray once received – is to forward via P2P’s site.

Saturday, June 27th: Central Park Family Picnic Event!

Fill that picnic basket with goodies and head off for an afternoon of music, lawn games, fishing, and just plain getting to know fabulous Central Park that much better! Need we say, it’s free! For more...

All of our old farmer/baker/fisherman/dairy friends and their fresh, locally grown produce, baked goods, milk, yogurt, cheese, cider and fabulous seafood from the 92nd market… A mere 2 blocks further north!!

And joining us in 2015: Dipaolas Turkey!!

You want… You need to be there!!

Sunday, June 28th: Green Park Gardeners Volunteer Day

East River Esplanade at 60th Street, near the 60th Street ramp, 2:30-5pm

Ever wondered who’s been making our low-Sixties Esplanade so gorgeous? Green Park Gardeners, that’s who and here’s a fine moment to pitch in… And acquire some of the group’s extensive garden knowledge!! Just equip yourself with an inexpensive trowel with inches marked and garden gloves (both available at Home Depot)!

Wednesdays, July 1st to August 19th: Socrates Park International Film Festival

Socrates Park, Long Island City, 7pm

Film Forum in partnership with Rooftop Films put together a schedule from D.A. Pennebaker’s ultra classic USA doc “Don’t Look Back” to films ranging from India to Saudi Arabia to Argentina and beyond. For the complete program…

Four years ago, we joined 40 others from all over NYC in raising 7 tons of earth to Metro’s rooftop bucket brigade-style (believe it or not, only took a few hours!). Fast forward to one of the cleverest and most productive city farming projects going (utilizing kids’ wading pools), providing fresh produce to the needy of the area! Couldn’t be a better outing for out-of-school youngsters. Can’t beat the view either! For more…

Right around the corner:

Sunday, July 12th: Shred-A-Thon – Pre-Bastille Day Edition

First Avenue between 94th & 95th Streets, 11am-2pm

Just two weeks and we’ll be pulverizing tons of paper on First Avenue!

And you’re only too familiar with the drill:

NO cardboard or handled shopping bags.

And please do remove paper clips and spiral bindings.

NO HARDCOVER BOOKS. (But we do accept paperbacks.)

Take your hardcovers over to Goodwill.

(Thanks to Council Members Kallos and Garodnick for their green and generous grants!)

Congrats to the deserving winners of this year’s Historic Districts’ Grassroots Awards which include our own CM Garodnick and life-long UES resident and much-missed CB8 Board member, Teri Slater.

Still on the subject of things historic, happy to see the for-many-years-lost pedestal of the northern 59th Street Bridge lamp (removed because the Tram wasn’t engineered at sufficient height; the only parts of the lamp so far found) has been restored… BUT not to its rightful place… BUT now lives on Roosevelt Island and not on our side of the river… We say it’s infinitely more “relevant” to a spot near its original location.

A Belated Happy Birthday to the Magna Carta, UESiders!!

Britains have also been celebrating the 2,000-2,500th (best they’re able to determine) birthday of the Ankerwycke Yew, the ancient tree under which King John signed on the dotted line!

(For those who haven’t ever made the comparison, the parallels between the M.C. and our Constitution are pretty amazing…)

hibiscus-palustris

But let’s move on to present and the week ahead:

Friday, June 19th: The U.S. Contraband Ivory Crush!

Times Square, 10:30am

Sponsored by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and a host of other conservation groups, this is the second such event in America! The aim: Underscore the elephant poaching crisis that could soon have the animal extinct in the wild. For more…

Friday, June 19th:NYSkies Astronomy Seminar

Your chance to relate the origins of your passion for astronomy to fellow enthusiasts of NYSkies! And we quote Starmaster John Pazmino: “I myself got into this profession in, uh, 1954 by witnessing a partial solar eclipse from Brooklyn. I may be the longest enduring astronomer in NYSkies but I’m ready for an older fellow to surprise me at this meeting!” Free and great!

This just in from new Market Manager Andrei: “Peas of all type are plentiful and there’s lots of broccoli rabe in the market! Samascott & Gajeski have strawberries & rhubarb! Cherry Lane has greenhouse tomatoes of many varieties. And for you fava fans, Alewife has fava beans!!

All of our old farmer/baker/fisherman/dairy friends and their fresh, locally grown produce, baked goods, milk, yogurt, cheese, cider and fabulous seafood from the 92nd market… A mere 2 blocks further north!! See you there!!

And then:

Every Tuesday during July & August:2015 Rooftop Cinema & Concerts

Czech Center New York, 321 East 73rd Street, 7pm

The usual great roster of early film classics, both Czech & American, with silent films accompanied by live music. A totally delightful environment with a refreshment stand! Free to members. Non-members, $15. (For the schedule…)

For those of us who yearn to bathe in governmental regulation minutia, don’t miss this one of several statewide gatherings at which costs to producers of CO2 are considered/assessed! For (riveting) details…

Wonder if – as the supposedly state-of-the-art, tight-as-drum rail cars members of MTS Advisory Group were shown during a 2014 field trip featured dripping rivulets of ick – this might especially pertain to NYC solid waste…?

Which, as we all recall, our city’s Neanderthal solid waste “plan” envisions shipping many hundreds of miles away and at 3 times current cost to landfills near poor upstate New York, Pennsylvania and Carolina communities.

6/5 – Manhattan, HRM 1: This week we caught a male seahorse 75 millimeters [mm] long at The River Project on Hudson River Park’s Pier 40; we could see its brood pouch. We also caught a blackfish (tautog, 37 mm), a juvenile striped bass, and two juvenile oyster toadfish. – Jessica Bonamusa

pregnant male seahorse!

[Male sea horses and pipefishes have a brood pouch in which they carry fertilized eggs deposited by the females. In one of the rare instances in the animal kingdom, it is the males that give live birth. Tom Lake.]